AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl who was allegedly starved to death by her own mother had just one blueberry in her stomach when she died, an autopsy has found.
Jacqueline ‘Mimi’ Torres–Garcia’s dead body was discovered in the basement of an abandoned Connecticut home on October 8.
The young child was facing “severe malnourishment” when she died, according to a new report from the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
An investigation on her body found she also had ingested diphenhydramine and the antihistamine sold as Benadryl prior to her death, despite not having been prescribed the drugs.
She also had not been diagnosed with a disorder that would require her to take the stimulants.
The autopsy notes also said that while she had no recent fractures or major trauma, she was found “folded into a tight fetal position”, WTNH reported.
Jacqueline was found in an advanced state of decomposition, where her weakened body had very little body fat and showed signs of severe muscle atrophy.
The 11-year-old’s mother Karla Garcia, 29, and her ex-boyfriend Jonatan Nanita, 30, have been accused of her murder.
Garcia has pleaded not guilty to murder, while Nanita exercised his right to a probable cause hearing last month.
He has not yet entered a plea.
The pair allegedly starved, zip-tied and prevented Jacqueline from going to the bathroom, according to police documents seen by the Hartford Courant.
Garcia told police she had not fed her daughter for an estimated two weeks prior to her death.
The family had previously resided in a condo in Farmington, where police believe Jacqueline died in September 2024.
Police have alleged her body was stored in the basement of the condo for months before the family relocated.
Nanita then allegedly disposed of Jacqueline’s remains in a plastic container that was hidden in the back garden of the vacant New Britain home.
He later told cops that Garcia had asked him to get rid of the bin’s contents, saying she never “confirmed that Jacqueline was in the bin but would give him hints”, according to Fox61.
Her remains weighed just 27 pounds when they were found last October with nearly no fat under her skin.
Prior to Garcia being granted custody of the child in 2022, she had resided with her paternal grandparents until she was nine.
Investigators noted that Jacqueline had been home-schooled, making it harder to verify her safety.
The Consolidated School District of New Britain previously said Jacqueline had been a student in the district from kindergarten through to fifth grade, before her mother pulled her out of school.
Garcia also allegedly deceived the Department of Children and Families, by pretending that someone else on a video call was her daughter.
The call occurred months after Jacqueline’s death.
Victor Torres – Jacqueline’s father – told KFSB that he had learned of his daughter’s death through the police.
He said he planned to sue the DCF for $100 million for negligence in connection to Jacqueline’s passing.
Garcia has been charged with murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances, risk of injury to a minor, first-degree unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty to a child under the age of 19, tampering with evidence and improper disposal of a dead body.
She is set to appear in court on January 30 and she is being held on a $5 million bond.
Nanita was charged with murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances, risk of injury to a minor, unlawful restraint and intentional cruelty to a child.
The horrific ordeal comes as Jacqueline’s aunt, 28-year-old Jackelyn Garcia, was also charged with cruelty to persons, first-degree unlawful restraint, first-degree reckless endangerment and four counts of risk of injury.
Police allege she lived with the family and witnessed the abuse, however did nothing to stop it.
She’s being held on a $1 million bond.
